Cowboy Romance
by Lil Grrl Bleu
Summary: A drunken meet upIn a crude saloonA poor rocky mountain townHe's a scoundrel andShe's no pearlTogether they are two lovers cruel


Title: Cowboy Romance

Author: Mackenzie

Email: "General Hospital"

Disclaimers: I don't own them, don't claim to own them, don't sue, it'll be a waste of time.

Spoilers: Everything, just to be safe.

Author's Notes: This story is COMPLETELY AU. Don't expect me to follow any kind of timeline at all, you'll only drive yourself nuts. This fic primarily contains Luke and Skye. Don't look for Scrubs, don't look for Liason, don't look for GQ, don't look Nem, you will only be disappointed. They'll all be background characters.

Props: Natalie Merchant for the song, when I heard it, I immediately thought of Skye and Luke.

-1-

Skye Quartermaine pushed open the door of the Haunted Star using her backside. Turning around, the new mother quickly wheeled the stroller in containing her daughter, Lila Rae. Looking around the casino, the auburn haired woman's eyes darted around, looking for any signs of life within the building. "Hello? Is anyone here? Luke?"

Furrowing her brow, the oldest daughter of Alan Quartermaine kneeled down to pick her daughter up and hold her close to her chest as she walked over to a felt topped blackjack table. "You, my darling daughter, are in desperate need of a diaper change."

Just as she raised the skirt of her daughter's dress, Luke Spencer, co-owner of the establishment, walked in the room from his office. "Whoa... Blaze, what do you think you are doing?"

"I am working on the great American novel," she quipped back dryly.

Spencer rolled his eyes as he walked up behind the woman, "Skye," he said, "these tables aren't cheap. They cannot withstand soiled diapers. We have a baby station in the ladies room for this sort of thing."

Saying nothing, the fiery woman lifted her daughter's legs up and slid a clean diaper under her and laid her down. Bringing the diaper up, she fastened it, using the adhesive tapes and then rolled up the soiled on and handed it to Luke, who immediately stepped back, a look of disgust on his face. "Oh, baby, I so do not think so."

Skye rolled her eyes as she pushed her daughter's dress back down and held the diaper in her other hand, "Luke, don't be a wimp. You have two children, you've handled a dirty diaper or two in your day."

"You're right, I have," Luke said in agreement, "however, my days of dirty diapers ended when we potty trained Lulu."

Skye's face softened a little, "How's Laura?"

Luke gave her a sad smile, "A million miles away," he said softly. Sighing deeply, the man sat down on a stool and continued, "Dr. Robin informed me that LS-49 would only work once and that it wasn't a definite guarantee. I knew the risks. I knew that if an onslaught of information all at once could send her back to wherever the hell it was that I got her out of. I never should have lied to her, this is all my fault."

"No," Skye said quietly, sitting down next to him, "Luke, this isn't your fault. Tracy never should have cornered Laura and she never should have threw it in her face that the two of you were married, and she certainly should never have told her about Lulu's abortion and Lucky's problems with drugs and other things. That was just cruel, even for Tracy."

The man next to her sighed heavily again, "I let her down, Blaze. I let my kids down, I let everybody who loved Laura down. Laura would have been content not knowing that our marriage was invalid. As long as she thought we were married, than she'd be happy."

Skye nodded wordlessly as she glanced down at her hands. Unable to keep herself from harboring a bit of jealousy and anger towards Luke, she quickly looked up and slid off the stool. "I'm going to throw away this diaper. Can you hold Lila Rae for me while I'm gone?"

Luke looked at Skye and then at the baby, hesitation in his eyes, "I've never been good when it comes to babies, Skye."

Handing over her daughter to him, Skye rolled her eyes, "Just hold her for a minute, Luke, don't raise her and send her off to college." Saying no more, the woman headed towards the ladies room to throw away the diaper.

Looking down at the tiny human being in his arms, Luke's face softened a bit as a shadow of a smile appeared, "You like the blues?" he asked the baby girl. "I can teach you to appreciate them," he promised quietly, "I taught my son and I'm sure I can teach you."

Throwing the diaper into the metal wastebasket, Skye washed her hands and shook the access water off before reaching over to the towel dispenser and pulling some out. Drying her hands, she tossed them into the trash and headed towards the door, only to stop abruptly when Tracy walked in as she was coming out. Quickly casting her eyes down, Skye tried to move past her, "Excuse me."

Venom in her voice, Tracy sneered, "What are you doing here?"

Sighing deeply, the woman looked at her aunt, "I thought that maybe Luke would like to see Lila Rae."

Rolling her eyes, Tracy glared at the woman before her, "Do you realize that every time you call that child that name, my mother rolls in her grave?"

"I disagree," Skye responded, "Lila and I were very close and I loved her dearly. This was my way of memorializing her."

"Memorializing her?" Tracy spat, "You got yourself knocked up by a hoodlum. That is how you memorialize my mother?"

Stung at the words, Skye gave her a quiet smile, her voice soft, "Excuse me." Pushing past her, she walked out of the bathroom and headed back out onto the floor and stopped when she saw Luke making faces at the baby. Laughing quietly, she watched the two of them for a minute before heading over to them. "We should probably get out of your hair."

Luke glanced up at her, "So soon?"

Blinking in surprise, Skye regarded him, "Just a few minutes ago, you were complaining about us being here and now you want us to stay?"

Luke shrugged as he handed her back the baby, "What can I say? You grow on me."

Giving him a smile, Skye leaned in and kissed his cheek, "Call if you want a decent home cooked meal, okay?"

Giving her a soft smile, Luke nodded as he watched her put the baby back into her stroller, "I will. Call if you want your daughter educated on BB King and Etta James."

Skye laughed softly as she kicked the brake off the stroller and nodded. Casting him one final look, she quickly wheeled Lila Rae out of the Haunted Star and headed home, unsure of why she came to begin with.


End file.
